A Self-Taught Baker at Sweet Pea's Bakery
Seneca, Kansas (pop. 1,991) is our featured rural community this week! Their thriving main street, rich history, and community events are just a few of the many great things to love about Seneca. We'll be sharing stories throughout the week from local leaders and business owners who are making an impact here. Today's guest blog post is from Serena Huerter of Sweet Pea’s Bakery.
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In May 2017, I went from a stay-at-home mom of three to a self-taught bakery owner. That is when my husband and I purchased The Miller’s Daughters Bakery, which had been closed for a year. We opened in June 2017 as Sweet Pea’s Bakery; a name derived from my love of flowers and a nickname for my kids.
The business is a true family business. My husband has the business degree, so he handles all of the business things along with his full-time job as a purchasing agent at a local cabinet manufacturer. He does the hard stuff so I can do the fun stuff. I take care of the customers, the baking, and the decorating. The kids help with everything from customer service, barista duty, cleaning, and dishes.
We offer freshly-baked breakfast items and sweets, such as cinnamon rolls and twists, pecan sticky buns, fruit rolls, peanut butter twists, scones, donuts, turnovers, quiche, cookies, cupcakes, and energy balls. We also serve lunch – a menu based on what I thought Seneca was missing: spring mix salads, sandwiches on our homemade bread, and in the winter we offer scratch made soups. We also make custom cakes (wedding, birthday, anniversary, etc.…) and decorated sugar cookies.
The small town feel is what you will find when you walk through the door at Sweet Pea’s Bakery. We have a cozy feel with only 20 seats and a fun toy kitchen area for kids to play while the adults enjoy their latte and catch up with friends. A friendly greeting with a smile is often lost in the big city stores, but not here. We pride ourselves in knowing our customers, knowing their family, and knowing their order.
FAVORITE PART OF BEING A BUSINESS OWNER?
I never would have thought my that my favorite part of owning my own business would be watching the children in our community grow up. In these three years, I have watched some grow from babies into children who can now tell me what they want. I love getting to see their little personalities develop and their tastes evolve. We love seeing the children smile, whether it be just a breakfast date with mom or their birthday breakfast, we want to make every visit to Sweet Pea’s a special visit.
WHY SENECA?
My husband was born and raised in Seneca. When we were expecting our 2nd child, we decided it was time to be around family. So, in 2008, we moved from Emporia to Seneca. In Seneca, we have a village that is helping us raise our children. Here, kids can take off on their bikes and just be kids! We don’t worry about strangers or crime. If my kids are off riding their bikes, I will often get updates from customers as to where they are or where they have been. It is this village that makes being a business owner so rewarding! It is this village that is making Sweet Pea’s Bakery a successful business.
Find out more about the rural revival happening in Seneca, Kansas here:
EPISODE 88 // LIZ FELDKAMP OF LIZ'S BRIDAL & FORMAL WEAR